20. Declan

20

DECLAN

As the wheels touched down on the airstrip next to the estate, I let out a breath of relief. When I retired, I was never going to fly another day in my life. I’d spent the last six months on planes flying to over eight different countries. Thankfully, while in Europe, I was able to take the high-speed train to most of the locations I needed to visit, which I preferred. I wished we had something comparable in the States.

I sat in the cockpit and went through my post-landing checklist while mentally preparing for what lay ahead of me. I had no idea what was in store or what I may be facing. Two conversations needed to happen. I had to get to the bottom of whatever that stunt with Serena was and also address Ashley’s demotion. I’d wait for both until the launch was over, which was happening at 10:00 a.m. EST. By the time the sun set today, I was determined to have both issues resolved.

Before heading into the house, I walked over to the pasture and said hello to Bonnie and Clyde. The two truly were inseparable. Craig sent me updates, including photos and videos of the horses, and they were never more than a few feet apart from one another when they were grazing. Clyde was obsessed with Bonnie.

He wasn’t the only one who’d sent me photos of the horses. I smiled remembering the random text I’d received from Ashley saying she wanted to find a man who looked at her like Clyde looked at Bonnie, and she wouldn’t mind if he were hung like Clyde, too. I immediately knew I was not the intended recipient. She texted back within thirty seconds, confirming my suspicion. A few weeks later, when Hannah sent me the quarterly projections to approve, I adjusted Ashley’s, adding her goal. I assumed she’d seen it, although she hadn’t responded to the email.

Clyde huffed as he pressed his muzzle against my forehead. My body relaxed just being near them. Part of me wished that I lived here and that every day could just be spent on the beach with horses and dogs. If I had the choice, that would be the life I would want to live.

After taking a few more moments, I decided it was time to get back to reality. I sanitized my hands as I headed toward the house. When I walked in, Fred and Dorothy were nowhere to be found, but I heard commotion in the kitchen, so I assumed they were readying food for the launch celebration. I found Gran in the sunroom seated in her armchair, Rufus asleep at her feet.

I crossed the room and bent down to kiss her on her cheek. “Gran, you look beautiful.”

She did. It had been six months since I’d seen her, and in that time, she’d somehow managed to age backwards. I had been so concerned that taking on this project would have been too much for her, but it appeared the opposite was true. It had given her a new lease on life.

Her skin was glowing. Her hair was shiny. She’d even put on a little weight. I wondered if that had been Ashley’s influence. For all the frustration and irritation she caused me when she started, Gran seemed to love her. I wasn’t sure why, but she seemed to be the only person Gran listened to when it came to eating.

“Thank you. Sit.” She motioned to the seat across from her, not the one beside her.

Gran had never been overly effusive, but even for her, that was a curt greeting. This might even be worse than I’d thought. As I sat down, I braced myself.

“I gather you and Serena didn’t reconcile.”

“No. We did not.”

She closed her eyes, and I could see the visible disappointment in her expression. She inhaled slowly, then exhaled as if the information truly upset her, and she was finding it difficult to remain calm.

“Gran, what’s going on? What is this new interest in me getting back together with Serena?”

Her lids opened. “Have you spoken to Harry?”

“No. I’m seeing him tomorrow morning.” We were scheduled to go over Derek’s legal issues.

She sat upright with her shoulders straight, and her hands were folded on her lap. Her ankles were crossed one in front of the other and angled to the side. It was the way she sat whenever she was discussing something unpleasant.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong? Just tell me,” I demanded.

“I discovered a copy of your grandfather’s will.”

“Discovered?” I assumed she’d always had a copy of my grandfather’s will. “What do you mean, discovered? Haven’t you always had one?”

“No. I haven’t. He was always funny about things like that. He left his affairs in Harry’s hands. The upshot is things aren’t as straightforward as I assumed they would be.” She took a deep breath. “I was of the belief that the company would be put either in your name or in my name; if it were in my name, I would then make the decision of who it would be passed down to; my intention was to name you as my successor. That’s what your grandfather and I discussed. That is not the case.”

That was what I’d always been told as well.

“So what is the case?” I wondered if he’d broken up the company into three parts. Maybe he’d left the Wolfe Clothing to Gran. The Wolfe Tequila to Derek. And the Wolfe Hotels/Resorts to me. It wasn’t ideal, but I could understand his reasoning. As someone who had been running all three for the past eight months, I found it was a lot to take on.

“At the end of the fourth quarter of this year, on Christmas Day, the business, in its entirety, will be passed down to whichever male heir is married.”

I stared at her in total and complete shock and disbelief. “What?”

“At the end of the year, the company will go to Derek unless you are married.”

“That’s…” I shook my head. “No, that’s not…Grandad wouldn’t do that.”

“He did do that.”

“Well, can’t you undo it?”

“Everything is in your grandfather’s name except this house.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. The house in Atlanta, the penthouse in New York, the cars, the business—all the assets are solely in your grandfather’s name and will be passed down to whoever inherits the business.”

“That’s not…you were married to him for seventy years. ”

“That doesn’t matter. We were married at a different time. Your grandfather had a different idea about a wife’s place.”

“But those are your homes and?—”

“This was the only home I ever cared about, and I am more than taken care of financially; his life insurance took care of that. This isn’t about me. But I’m telling you, I don’t have any say over the business.”

“So Derek is going to inherit the business? He hasn’t worked a day since Grandad died. He’s been in rehab. He has criminal charges pending against him. He’ll run the company into the ground. There has to be something we can do. Legally.”

“You can talk to Serena. I think that she will?—”

“I’m not going to marry Serena.” There was no way I could marry a woman just to save the company.

“I don’t see another way.” Gran sat stoically, her expression giving nothing away.

“Why?” I shook my head back and forth. “Why would he put in that clause?”

“I can only assume he did it because he thought that was the best chance of having it handed down to grandchildren. He wanted to leave a legacy.”

It’s not that I’d always agreed with my grandfather on a personal level, but in his professional life, I’d respected and looked up to him. But this was the dumbest, most insane, most ridiculous thing he’d ever done. How could a man I’d admired and emulated, in business at least, a man who I thought loved me, who had taken me under his wing and mentored me, do this?

All my life, I’d been bred to run Wolfe Enterprises. It’s all I’d ever envisioned myself doing. And now, because I wasn’t married, my brother, who didn’t take the business or family or himself seriously, was going to have it handed to him on a silver platter. Not only the business but also the houses, the cars, and the assets.

I could only imagine the damage that Derek and Raquel would do with access to virtually unlimited resources. I had to find a way to stop this. Somehow. Some way. There was a solution. I just didn’t know what it was, but I would find it. I had to. I didn’t have another choice.